Political clout in mining lease

The Supreme Court (SC) last week said a firm in Haryana had obtained a mining lease in a devious way, with apparent “influence in high places”. Though the firm was not eligible to get the lease, it created a joint venture (JV) for bidding and was successful in getting the lease for mining in Bhiwani district. But, after some time, the JV was dissolved with the partner transferring all his shares to the firm. The state's Department of Mines, which granted the licence, then cancelled it. The firm also found while it had bid ~115 crore, the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, a government undertaking, got mining land at a cheaper rate, affecting its commercial viability. This led to long litigation. The firm challenged the cancellation in vain in the high court (HC), and some others also moved the court against the grant of lease through the JV route. Concluding the litigation in the case, Sunder Marketing Associates vs State of Haryana, the SC passed an order allowing the firm to continue mining only till November 30 and pay royalty and all dues, including those of the employees. The judgment said: “This is a classic case of someone apparently having influence in high places, using that influence to violate the law and get a benefit that would ordinarily not be granted to anybody else. We cannot say with any degree of certainty how high is the reach of the petitioner but it is quite apparent from the facts of the case, that the reach is pretty high.”